Method of making lasts.



R; 0. SIMMONS.

METHOD OF MAKING LASTS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 8, 1908. RENEWED JAN. 22, 1913.

1,059,082. Patented Apr.15,1913.

VWT/VESSES. v I

. may be practised in making lasts other than UNITED STATES PATENT orRALPH c. SIMMONS, 0F nnvnmiyfmas'sacnusn'r'rs, ass enon fro MACHINERYoomranxor rarrnnson, NEW JERSEY, A. semen/amen JERSEY. 3

ao aaose.

Application filed September a, ieoaseria'l No. 452,051.

To all whom it may mam.- i k Be it known that I, RALPH C. SIMMONS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county ofEssex and Comdrawings, is a specificatiom like reference characters onthe drawings indicating like parts in the several figures. N

This invention relates to methods of making lasts and is hereindescribedmore particularly as a method of producing a' lastcovered byan'application filed contemporaneously herewith. It will be understood,however, that the method herein disclosed that'described insaidapplication.

According to the present invention, a last is made from' a plurality ofblocks which may possess, if desired,difi"erent characteristics.structed that the fiber of the wood in the heel partextends in'thedirection of the height of the last, while in the forepart it extendslongitudinally of the last. The method herein disclosed-may be also usedto advantage in forming a last having sections differing in other ways.For example, the sect-io'ns may differ in the kind of wood used. theforepart being of maple and the'heel part of 'a tougher kind of wood,such as lignum vitae. The practice ofthe present method is'particularlyadvantageous in that it permits a last to be made from small blocks ofwood which would otherwise not be suitable for use for this purpose.

In practising the present invention. the sections which are to composethe completed last are united beforethe fo0t-shape contour is produced.Bynniting the sections before forming the foot-shape contour, theproduction of this contour is much simplified and rendered capable ofbeing effected considerably more cheaply than would be possible if thesections were separately turned and thereafter united. Furthermore inpractising the present invention an exact registry of the sections isinsured regardless of slight variations in the manner in which thesections have been united before the turning operation. If the sectionswere separately turned it would require great care to insure METHOD OFMAKING LAsrs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

The last herein shown is so c0n-' um-"anns miare itenewed January 22,18-13.

that they would fit accuratel "together 1 the point of union; The surace in which the sections meet advance of the the last. The connectionbetween the sections is preferablya permanent one. After the sectionshave'been united, :the block thus the desired foot-shape contour. thelast is divided inthe usual way to place it in the form desired, eitherby severing. therefrom an instep'block, or, if

the manner customary in producing lasts of this kind. 1 v 1 Otherfeatures and advantages ofthe. invention will be her in fter pointedout.

r In the drawings, which show a last in various stages of manufactureaccording to a method embodying the present invention, F lgnre 1 is aView in perspective illustratin' the last sections, before-they areunited an after their meeting surfaces have been .pre-

spective view showing united Fig.3 is a a completed last.

the last sections perspective view showlng erably glued. As indicatedupon the drawings, the heel section 1 is so constructed that the fiberof the wood extends inthe direction of the height of the last while inthe forepart section 2 the fiber extends longitudinally of the last.After the sections 1 and 2 have been firmly united. as indicated in Fig.2, the last block is placed in a last turning lathe and turned to adesired contour. It will be seen that the mortise and tenon 'connectionbetween the heel section and forethese sections from being displacedrelatively by-the twisting force "which is applied to them in the lastturning lathe. As will be obvious this force would be liable to'brcalcthe glued joint between the sections it the .Eerial 'iitltiii lf formedis turned. in a last turning lathe to,

Thereafter" preferably'extends from Y side to side of the completed lastand lies'in heel at the shank portion of itisto be a hinged last, by,diyiding it at theshank in,

Referring to'the drawings, the reference i pared tobe" joined together;Fig. 2 is a'per- I parts. The meeting surfaces are alsoprefpartsectionis of advantage in preventing glue alone were dependent upon toresist relative displacement of the sections. Furthermore by uniting thesections by an interlocking joint, the extent of glued surface whichresists breaking of the joint is made considerably greater than would bethe case if the meeting surfaces were flat. After the last has beenturned it may be prepared for use in the manner n'ow customary in themanufacture of lasts.

The last shown is provided with a removable instep block 4, severed inthe usual way from the forepart of the last.

The union between the two sections of the last is preferably located atthe shank portion of the last. This allows the entire heel portion to beconstructed to resist vertical compression in the desired manner andalso insures that theunion will'be sufliciently removed from'the toe togive themeeting surfaces suflicient area to produce a strong joint. Astrong union between the sections is required not only in the opera-tionof turning the block to a foot-shape contour, but, as will be obvious,is necessary to give the last sufficient strength to resist thestresses,

' which it must undergo 1n the manufacture of cling operation. a

While the present method is particularly of advantage in'permitting alast- -to be manufactured from blocks of wood which would boots andshoes, particularly in the sole levotherwise .be too small to use forthis purpose, it will be understood that the invention may beadvantageously used in other ways. For example, the last blocks whichconstitute the ordinary raw material of the last maker may be divided to'producethe sections to be joined. An' advantage incident to this mannerof making lasts consists in the fact that the checks or small crackswhich occur at the heel end of the last block may be placed in such aposition'that they will not appear in the finished last.

.Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is 1. The method of making a lastwhich consists in permanently and rigidly unitin two sections to form alast block in suc manner that the surface of union extends tions of alast block by a union formed by interlocking the meeting surfaces of thesections and thereafter turning the block to' a foot'shape contour.

3. The method of making a last which consists in permanently. andrigidly uniting a plurality of-wooden sections to formlongitudinally'successive portions of a last block with the fiber of thewood in one section ex.- -tending at substantially right angles to thefiber in another section and thereafter turn: ing the block to a footshape. contour.

' In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.-

. RALPH G. SIMMONS.

Witnesses; I

BERNARD BARROWS, ALLAN H. BARROWS.

